The December 1963 issue of the Chronicle was the last Christmas-time edition in our time at Cathedral. It was printed with green ink, repeating the “tradition” set the year before. (I’ve darkened the pages to make them easier to read.)

Lead story and photo (above) was about the Glee Club’s Winter Concert, set for January 17. There was an amusing item about the first driving class for Ann Cavanaugh, Ruth Camyre, and Patricia Raimondi (photo below). Seems the Ford Falcon in which the trio was receiving instruction from Francis Connery had a weak battery. It stalled on Plumtree Road and would not restart. With the girls out behind the car pushing, Connery was able to jump start the vehicle and bring all back to school.

Page two acknowledged the assassination of President Kennedy with an editorial, a collection of some his most famous statements, and a sketch by Suzanne Babineau. Kevin O’Malley had an essay about the value of a tax cut on investment income for both the national and international economies.

A page three feature on the student receptionists at the Guidance Office included photos of (l-r, below) Patricia Manning, Maureen Pollard, and Mary Perrin (washing the inside of the glass in the office door). Other receptionists included Ellen Boissoneault, Donna Roy, Virginia Iwaniec, Margaret DeMontigny, Diane Benoit, and Sylvia Sekac.

Classmate Patricia Matthews wrote a page four feature on Christmas traditions. Another item on the same page about the pantomime presentation of the Puccini opera “Gianni Schicchi” highlighted the resilience and deftness of some of the performers. (Apparently the presentation took place as scheduled on November 27, despite the altered school schedule for the funeral of President Kennedy.) Mentioned were Jo Anne Moore, Linda Lourraine, Robert Winship, and William O’Malley.

While the caption for the photo at left says our senior basketball players are “getting into harness,” it looks more like they’re heading out for a good time after a hard-won victory. The basketball team, which had an excellent season overall, finishing just short of a Western Mass championship, opened its season the night this edition of the Chronicle came out. The sports page shows its creative terms for various sports: “keglers,” “basketeers,” “mermen,” and “grapplers.” Grantland Rice would have been proud.

The keglers, also known as the bowling team, were led by captain Jim Gastone. Classmates among the mermen, the swim team, were Dan Kelley, Tom Counos, Mike Bannon, Greg Beauvais, and Bill Wood. And the grapplers, the wrestling team, included John Cardano, Attilio Cardaropoli, Ben Aleks, Joe DeCaro, Tom “Turk” Murphy, Paul Rieker, Dan Cotter, Jerry Couture, and Walt Reardon.

Below is a photo from that season’s football closer, against Tech, showing “ramblin’ Dave Guyer.”

Janice Bushey had a nice page six feature on impresario Fr. Richard Riendeau, director of the opera presentation mentioned above, also teacher to three junior and two sophomore religion classes and a class in logic.

Here’s the December 20, 1963, Chronicle

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Classmates finishing their CHS football careers were the focus of photos (above and right) and an article on page five of the November 1963 Chronicle. Regrettably, after opening our senior season with a 1-1-1 record, the Purple Panthers dropped five straight games. They were to meet Westfield in the season finale the day after this issue came out. (Other seniors on the team — Gene Ryzewicz, Dave Wall, and “Dee” LaCasse — were still to play basketball, so there was no farewell to CHS sports from them.)

(This was also the Wednesday following the assassination of President Kennedy, but as the deadline had passed prior to that, there was no mention of that iconic event in this edition.)

Page one featured the honor roll and induction into the National Honor Society of new members, including 22 seniors (photo above). NHS officers were: George Shannon, president; Mark Sullivan, vice-president; Nancy Thompson, secretary; and June Morini, treasurer. Also noted was the upcoming Dramatic Club performance of “Nativity at the Crossroads,” to be presented December 20. Among cast members were classmates Jan Perry, Robert Menard, and Pam Alifano. Assisting director Michael Gelinas as student director was Robert McCann.

The lead editorial on page two lauded the appearance of a “new entertainment” coming into the “teenage world.” Described as “clean, wholesome entertainment,” the new thing was . . . folk music! And it was replacing “jazz.” Yup, the music we danced to in the Holy Name Social Center on Friday nights was . . . jazz. 🙂

Sixteen classmates had received early college acceptances, according to the article on page three. They were: William O’Malley, Kevin O’Malley, Reid Oslin, Edward Callahan, Paul Donahue, William McDonald, Vincent Brown, Josette Bouchie, Leonie Cormier, Philip Dube, Dianne Dillon, Anne Murphy, June Morini, Kathleen Williams, Edward Chwalek, and John Moore. Page four reported that the Chess Club — led by officers Alan Sponburgh, president; Daniel Noonan, vice-president; James Peterson, secretary; and John Quill, treasurer — was looking for newcomers.

Also continuing his athletic career at CHS after football was Don Chase, who was listed as a returning starter for the hockey team on page five, which included classmates Tom Nolan, Tom Webber, Ed Chwalek, and Timmy Wright. The sports page reported that Tom Nolan led the city soccer league in scoring and noted the potential for this year’s basketball team. In addition to Ryzewicz, Wall, and LaCasse, classmates on the team included Rich Murphy, Jack Lawler, Bill Cosgriff, and Larry Masiarz.

There was also an uncommon mention of girls’ sports. CHS hosted a clinic for girls’ basketball that drew more than 100 coaches and players. Frontier Regional coach Vi Goodnow, who led her team to a 77-5 record over three years, led the sessions and summed up the importance of good sportsmanship by saying, “A girl can be a lady on a gymnasium floor.”

Kathleen Martin wrote an article on page six about the extracurricular activities of some of our lay teachers. Also on page four was a photo (below) and article about a new “IBM 402 Accounting Machine” course offered to 20 students and two teachers.

Here’s the November 27, 1963, Chronicle

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Stage performances were the feature of the October 1963 Chronicle, with the photo above on page one. “Father of the Bride,” according to the accompanying article, was to be presented by the Dramatic Club November 13-15. In addition to the principals in the photo, the play featured classmates Donna Roy, Denis Trelease, John Sheehan, Carol Horr, Frances Veale, Nancy Thompson, Helen Reid, Elizabeth Macolm, and Robert Cardoni (sic) (Cardone). Tickets were $1.

On page six, the photo above appeared with an article announcing the presentation of “Gianni Schicchi,” an opera by Puccini to be performed in pantomime (kind of a combination of acting and karaoke). It was scheduled for Wednesday, November 27, but that was the week following the assassination of President Kennedy, which may have forced its postponement. (Anyone in the cast recall? Paul Donahue? Rita Arsenault? Tom Murphy? Bob McCann?) The opera was directed by Fr. Richard Riendeau and the cast included additional classmates John Collins, William Fleming, Linda Lorraine, Tim McManus, Jo Ann Moore, William O’Malley, and Maureen Pollard.

Page one also reported that Chronicle co-editors Kathleen Ensign and Robert Stroshine, as well as page one editor Jeffrey Powers, were going to tell, in a skit, a freshman assembly that day how the Chronicle was put together. Due to compete in a diocesan speech festival that weekend were 12 classmates: Jim Montanari, Brendan Montano, Daniel Noonan, Susan Barrett, William O’Malley, Reid Oslin, Kathleen Burtt, Jane Curto, Barbara Mooney, Paul Donahue, Kevin O’Malley, and George Shannon.

Michael Reavey was prescient with a page two essay on the troubles facing the Ngo Dinh Diem regime in South Vietnam. His conclusion: “Mr. Diem’s future is very dim.” And short. A week after Mike’s essay appeared, Diem was arrested and assassinated in a coup. The coup was supported by the Kennedy administration, though it is likely Diem’s killing was not.

Page three reports on the Pen and Pallette publication (photo above) and includes the photo of several classmates (below) interviewing mayoral candidate John Pierce Lynch.

Page four includes coverage of Frosh Day, in which very benevolent dictators among the Class of 1964 ordered members of the Class of 1967 about, with kissing of rings, etc.

The sports page (five) led with the football game against Holyoke the next day. It also reported that the 4-1 soccer team was eyeing the cry championship. Classmates among the “booters” were Tom Nolan, Paul Rieker, goalie Bob Fitzgerald, Tom Webber, Ray Siwinski, Lou Valley, and Charlie Parsons.

Also noted on page six was that Robert Menard and Lynn Albano had been elected officers of Le Cercle Francais.

Here’s the October 25, 1963, Chronicle

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Here are the four Class of 1964 officers, as pictured in the September 1963 edition of the Chronicle. While these were the official leaders of the class, we, as the senior class, were leaders of the school (at least the student part). (I’m interrupting the order of posting Chronicles, because it was taking too long and 1963 had a lot more about us. All issues will eventually be available here.)

The Chronicle itself was a class project in terms of editors. Kathleen Ensign and Robert Stroshine were co-editors and page editors were Jeffrey Powers (one), Robert Stroshine (two), Edward Callahan (three), Barbara Mooney (four), Reid Oslin (five), and Margaret DeMontigny (six).

Lead picture on page one (at left) was Tom Counos, as king of the freshmen. Other page one articles reported on Ray Brassard and Nancy Thompson, as co-editors of Pantherpix, with numerous other seniors on the staff. Six members of the class qualified as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship program, and Paul Donahue and John Sheehan scored above 750 in both the math and verbal sections of the SAT. Twenty-six other members of the class scored above 700 in either math or verbal.

George Shannon penned a column about the Federal Communications Commission on page two. Page three reports on several seniors’ summer jobs and a new advanced history class conducted by Sr. Marie de Lourdes for 16 seniors. Charlotte Chartier wrote a feature about classmate Janice Perry, returning after two years in Puerto Rico, where her father was stationed in the Air Force.

About a third of page four is devoted to a ton of seniors who served as members of the Senior Patrol. Smaller items reported on another classmate, William Wood, whose family was uprooted by the Air Force to Nebraska but who lived with family friends at Westover to continue study at CHS, and Ellen LeClair, who had lost her class ring at the beach but had it returned by a member of the Class of 1961 who found it.

Page five reports that the Purple Panthers “will field a fast, mobile and hard-hitting squad this season.” Classmates on the team include linemen Dan O’Malley, Dennis Finnerty, and Fran Stachowicz; running backs Dave Guyer, Don Chase, Ed Crowley, and Paul Defresne; receivers Don LaCasse and Dave Wall; and, of course, quarterback Gene Ryzewicz. Hey, and they all played defense, too!  The sports page also notes how some “feminine CHS’ers” kept physically active during the summer and includes a picture of our cheerleaders, including our classmates Kathy Modry, Holly Donahue, and Maureen Lyons (at right).

Page six had the photo at the top of this post, along with an article giving background on our class officers. Another item reports on classmates elected to lead the JETS (Junior Engineering Technological Society): Vincent Brown, president; Stephen Sullivan, vice-president; John Dubiel, secretary; Timothy Holt, treasurer; and Robert Zielinski, “publicity man.”

Here’s the September 27, 1963 Chronicle

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1961-62 Purple Panthers hockey team, with classmates highlighted. Back, l-r: Timothy Wright, Don Chase, Tom Webber (manager). Front, l-r: Dave Guyer, Tom Nolan, and Gaetan Pelletier.

The March 1962 edition of the Chronicle was the first in our years to go to six pages in length. The only photographic presence of the Class of 1964 came in the photo above of the hockey team, which included six classmates. There was plenty of mention of classmates in the rest of the issue, however.

Page one talked about the year’s first band concert, featuring Brendan Montano and Carol Horr. Kevin O’Malley, Diane Dillon, William O’Malley, Paul Donahue, and Daniel Noonan were prepping for the state finals in Speech. Carol Horr and Daniel Noonan also participated in the Dramatic Society’s regional competition, along with Patricia Raimondi. Francis Liro did the lighting. William Devlin, John Roberts, Ellen LeClare (sic) (LeClair), and Lynn Stowe received training in the use of products from Holyoke-based Tecnifax.

On page three, an item reported on Sr. James Bernard’s fourth period English class and the activities of Robert McCann, Gerald O’Connor, Joseph McClellan, and Anne Fahey. Also, Nancy Thompson, Jean Larkin (Landry?), Angela Deady, Lynn Albano, James O’Connell, Kathleen Ensign, James Gastone, and Alice Rohan. A preview of the upcoming Minstrel Revue mentioned soloists Dyane (another variation) Dillon and Rita Arsenault.

Nine CHS students went to the Columbia University high school press convention (page four), including Mary Clark, Kathleen Ensign, Kevin O’Malley, and Jeffrey Powers. On the same page, it was noted that Stephen Sullivan was one of only two students at CHS licensed to use the equipment for amateur radio station KIUHA. And among the students reported as enjoying hobbies were Rita Arsenault (collecting teacups), Ralph Adair (collecting fossils), Jacqueline Artiano (collecting pictures of cats), Robert Stroshine (landscaping).

In addition to the hockey players in the photo, page five (sports) mentioned John Collins and, of course, Gene Ryzewicz. One mention of John described him as someone who “startled nearly everyone by finishing first” in the city and Western Mass meets. Perhaps John was not among the “everyone” startled by his performance.

Jeffrey Powers had his first byline in the Chronicle on page six, interviewing an international student from Kenya. Receiving certificates for scoring 100 percent on two math proficiency exams sponsored by the National Office Management Association were: James Bogacz, Patricia Bajek, Michael Begley, Joanne Blazejowski, Patricia Bologa, Elizabeth Brown, Elaine Brzezowski, Joyce Costa, Diane French, Elaine Gauthier, Yvette Harpin, Bonnie Keane, Katherine Lynch, Anne Meron, Richard Newman, Denis Remillard, Kevin Szczygiel, and James Williams.

Here’s the March 30, 1962 Chronicle

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Classmates were throughout the January 1962 edition of the Chronicle, especially in reference to the production of “Silas Marner” presented by Sister Agnes Bernard’s 4th period English class. I don’t remember whether “Silas Marner” was even an okay book, but most of us probably had to read it.

This picture, below the fold of page one, shows many of the principal cast members, but the caption, oddly, does not include mention of the two students to the left — Elizabeth Francesconi as “Eppie” and Paul Donahue as the eponymous main character. The article to the left of the photo does list cast members: Paul, Elizabeth, Michael Reavey, Kevin O’Malley, Margaret Morneau, and narrator Dianne Dillon, but excludes Marilyn Stowe, who’s in the photo. Kathleen Ensign’s article about the play, to right of photo, also mentions Gene Ryzewicz.

Page three includes what I believe is Reid Oslin‘s first article in the Chronicle, reporting on the “tankmen,” i.e., swim team. Reid also covered sports for the Springfield newspapers for several years during high school and college and had a distinguished career of more than 40 years as Sports Information Director, and later as a senior member of the Public Affairs staff, at Boston College. He was inducted into BC’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1989. He has written three books about Boston College sports, including one just out on the BC hockey program.

It was in the Literary Supplement that class members were particularly evident. William Devlin had a “monoprint” of an “ultra-modern home” on the first page. Thomas Dunn had an extensive piece on page two entitled “The Haunter of Hilltown.” Kathleen Williams gave the “Definition of Cathedral.” Kathleen Martin provided a poem and Lawrence Landry a drawing of that same ol’ Silas Marner. Reid Oslin, showing he can write about stuff other than sports, looked ahead 50 years, to 2012, in sketching what might have been a good episode of Twilight Zone.

Here’s the January 26, 1962, Chronicle

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Literary Supplement, page one

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“‘Look at the Child smile,’ muses Kathleen Modry in the role of Columbine, as Stehen Dreyer and Jeffrey Powers comply.” Chronicle caption.

The December 1961 Chronicle featured this photo at the top of the page, accompanying an article about a one-act Christmas play to be held on December 22. Mentioned in the article are cast members Dennis Trelease, Kathleen Modry, Jeffrey Powers, Stephen Dwyer, William (I believe it should be Robert) McCann, and George Shannon. Richard McGurk and Daniel Noonan were shepherds. Lighting was in the capable hands of all-soph crew Francis Liro, William MacDonald (sic), Steven Sullivan, and Paul Vey.

On page 4, this photo shows Richard McGurk displaying his winning project in the Room 303 geometry fair, explaining things to Robert Stroshine. Less than a month later, Richie McGurk was killed in a tragic accident. (See “Very early losses,” posted January 18.) Second place in the fair went to Brendan Montano.

Here’s the December 22, 1961, Chronicle

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